CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 86-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2014

RE:    S.B. No. 2345

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE INVESTOR EDUCATION PROGRAM,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to protect Hawaii's kupuna from financial fraud and abuse by appropriating funds to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for educational outreach targeted at kupuna, particularly in the areas of indexed annuities, life-settlement annuities, variable annuities, and Ponzi schemes.

Your Committee on Conference finds that elderly citizens are often victimized by sophisticated investment frauds.  Fighting fraud and abuse against the elderly is a critical issue in Hawaii due to the State's rapidly growing elderly population.  The State is in need of more programs like the investor education program within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs that educate kupuna on how to make wise choices when investing and how to detect financial fraud.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by inserting an appropriation amount of $50,000.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2345, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Co-Chair	____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair
____________________________ SYLVIA LUKE, Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Co-Chair
	____________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Co-Chair